IUCN is pleased to announce that the Congress Preparatory Committee decided to allow observers to attend meetings of contact groups during the Members' Assembly of the IUCN World Conservation Congress. The Congress will take place from 5 to 14 October, 2008, in Barcelona, Spain. …

An emerging initiative could prove to be an ambitious break from traditional international forestry efforts, fundamentally changing the way forests are managed and boosting efforts to fight both poverty and climate change. …

On 25th July 2008 IUCN China co-sponsored a meeting entitled Forest Law Enforcement and Governance in the Global Context with the Chinese State Forestry Administration (SFA). This presented an opportunity to share information, as well as concerns, on the latest forest governance developments in some major export markets and producer countries, such as the FLEGT initiative and the forthcoming Lacey Act. …

Several stakeholders from the governmental sector, NGOs and civil society together with IUCN practitioners, took part in a capacity building event focused on negotiating agreements for conflict resolutions on shared waters. …

The Steering Committee of ECOLEX met at the FAO Headquarters in Rome on July 21-22. Present were representatives of the three partner organisations, FAO, IUCN, and UNEP - including Stefano Burchi (FAO), Françoise Burhenne-Guilmin (IUCN) and Iwona Rummel-Bulska (UNEP). …

Climate change is already happening – and it hits poor people most. The effect of more frequent hurricanes, floods and droughts on developing countries is devastating, as this year’s cyclone Nagris proved again in southern Myanmar, leaving over 130,000 people dead or missing.
To protect the world’s poor against today’s more frequent extreme weather events, some US$ 2 billion is required according to the Internacional relief agency Oxfam. However, commitments so far only total US$173.
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Two sea turtles caught in fishermen’s nets were returned to the wild in late June and early July, in response to IUCN’s work raising awareness in fishing communities about conservation of the marine reptiles. …